The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the 27th game in The Legend of Zelda series. Overview This game is developed and published by Nintendo. It was released worldwide on March 3, 2017 for the Wii U and the Switch. While this game is the final Nintendo game to be released on the Wii U, it is the first game to be released on the Switch, serving as the launch title for the console. Many game mechanics have changed from previous The Legend of Zelda games, with a much more "open-world" environment using a detailed physics engine. This also features the return of voice acting, marking the fifth The Legend of Zelda game to feature characters speaking, alongside Link: Faces of Evil, Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon, Hyrule Warriors, and Hyrule Warriors: Legends. This game features two Downloadable Content Packs: The first, titled "The Master Trials", was released on June 30, 2017. The second, titled "The Champions' Ballad", was released on December 7, 2017. They can only be purchased through one expansion pass, as a bundle for the two. This game also features amiibo compatibility, with each amiibo's effects varying on its type. This game is rated Everyone 10+ by the ESRB in North America, 12 by Pegi in Europe, and 12 by CERO in Japan. Gameplay The player plays as Link, the protagonist of the game. Much of the gameplay in Breath of the Wild is unlike any other The Legend of Zelda title, with an open-world environment and a world that is about twelve times larger than that of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess's. Some mechanics derive off of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, as well as other The Legend of Zelda titles. Sprinting and the Stamina Wheel return from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, with the ability to extend the Stamina Wheel temporarily or permanently to a certain extent. Climbing is a new ability, based off the wall sprint from Skyward Sword. Instead of player taking two steps up the wall while sprinting, the player is able to climb on most surfaces throughout the world based on how much stamina is left in their Stamina Wheel, however you cannot climb Shrines or the shrine walls. While climbing, the player can jump ahead of where they are going to speed up the climbing process, however, this uses up more stamina than climbing normally. Jumping at will is another new ability that had not been available before in any other The Legend of Zelda titles. Instead of having to stand on the edge of a platform to be able to jump, Link can now jump at will. An item called the Paraglider introduces paragliding in the air. The player is able to paraglide based on how much stamina they have left, much like climbing. Swimming returns, however, with limited use based on stamina, with the ability for to player to do a stroke to "boost" ahead, using more stamina than swimming normally. Downloadable Content The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild downloadable content is received either for free as Updates or through purchase as DLC Packs at the Nintendo eShop. Updates Version 1.1.0 Version 1.1.1 Version 1.1.2 Version 1.2.0 Version 1.3.0 Version 1.3.1 Version 1.3.3 Version 1.3.4 Version 1.4.0 DLC Packs Expansion Pass The Master Trials The Champions' Ballad Plot In the kingdom of Hyrule, a recurring threat named Calamity Ganon lays seige over the kingdom. However, a princess, descendent of the Goddess Hylia, harnesses her powers alongside the Champion of Hyrule, also known as the Hero of Hyrule who wielded the Master Sword and defeated Calamity Ganon. The next era began, with Hyrule's Sheikah tribe developing advanced technology to assist the Princess and the Champion in combating Calamity Ganon. The Sheikah developed many weapons and machines, creating a powerful army of mechanical beings called Guardians, as well as creating four massive weapons known as the Divine Beasts; large machines based off of animals throughout the world. Each of these were manned by four Champions of four races throughout Hyrule: One was a Zora, one was a Goron, one was a Rito, and one was a Gerudo. The Sheikah had also built Sheikah Towers and several locations called Shrines, where a new hero would be tested upon entering each of these. Towers were used as a "map updater," compatible with a device known as the Sheikah Slate, capable of many functions. All of these technologies were used against Calamity Ganon, and the kingdom of Hyrule reigned victorious over the threat. 9,900 years after the last Calamity had struck, Hyrule had lost much of their technological knowledge, only to conduct research and excavation to salvage much of the technology for research and redevelopment in defending Hyrule once again against Calamity Ganon, who was said to reappear soon. Many of the Shrines were dug up as well as Guardians, and soon were reactivated to use again. The Divine Beasts were also excavated and reused, this time piloted by four Champions; Princess Mipha, a female Zora who possessed the power of healing, was appointed as the Champion of the Zoras. Daruk, a male Goron with the ability to magically shield off attacks, was appointed as the Champion of the Gorons. Revali, a male Rito who had mastered the ability to create strong updrafts and fly through them, was appointed as the Champion of the Ritos. Chief Urbosa, a female Gerudo human who had the ability to summon lightning, was appointed as the Champion of the Gerudo nation. Among them were two others; Princess Zelda, a female Hylian human who possessed the powers of Hylia, was to lead the Champions to defeating Ganon. Link, a male Hylian human who was chosen by the Master Sword to wield, was appointed the Champion of Hyrule. To be continued. Gallery